Meringue
by forensicsfan
Summary: A freak spring snow storm shuts down the highway and leave two of our CSIs stranded for the night. A fluffy little treat for my fellow Snickers - NS.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I don't profit from them. As always I'd love to buy coffee with George and Jorja.

**Author's Note:** There is no carefully hidden plot in this little ficlet. It's _supposed_ to be a fluffy little treat for all of my fellow Snickers…thus the title "Meringue".

"It was either this or sleeping in the Denali." Nick reminded Sara as she glanced around the one room cabin with a frown on her face.

"But there's only one bed." There was a distinct whine in her voice, a cumulative effect of having driven several hundred miles with Nick to investigate a crime scene in a small town in the Sierra Nevada's only to encounter a freak spring snow storm that had shut down the highway. They were fortunate to have found a vacancy in some rental cabins which had just opened for the season.

"I'll just sleep on the floor then." Nick looked at the floor with a little trepidation. There were only bare floorboards and a few homey looking rugs. This cabin was obviously usually only used during the warmer months and it seemed that the only real source of heat was going to be coming from the fireplace.

Sara was cold just standing there and she looked at Nick skeptically. "Nick, you'll freeze to death."

He smirked. "I won't die. I might catch pneumonia and linger for weeks before I take a turn for the worse and then rally at the last minute and make a full recovery, but I won't die."

Sara rolled her eyes. "We'll just have to share." She wasn't sure what she thought about having to share a bed with Nick Stokes, except that it was hard not to entertain carnal thoughts at the idea.

"I promise that I'll be a perfect gentleman." Nick held his hand up as if he was reciting the Boy Scout oath.

Sara wasn't so sure and her doubt showed on her face.

Nick chuckled. "Well, unless you don't want me to be. We'd warm up a lot faster that way too." He waggled his eyebrows at her at the last comment.

Sara's eyes widened at the thought, wondering if he was actually serious.

He laughed. "Really, Sara, you have nothing to worry about." As much as he wouldn't mind helping Sara warm up, he wasn't about to put the moves on her in a situation like this. They were supposed to be working a case, but who knew that snow would fall in April in Nevada? Ok, they _were_ up in the mountains, but _still_, this time of year people rented these cabins out to hunt, hike, and fish.

"Hurry and make a fire, I'm cold." Sara was also tired and hungry, a combination that Nick had learned from years of working together not to argue with her.

Nick just shook his head and chuckled softly as he worked to get a fire going in the fireplace. If he made it right, it should burn long enough to keep the cabin warm all night. It didn't take long to get it going and once he had he turned towards Sara. "Why don't you crawl into bed? You'll get warmer faster that way."

"Ok." Sara's brow was furrowed as she kicked her shoes off and then shrugged off her jacket before climbing under what looked like a mountain of quilts, settling herself on the far side of the bed which was pushed up against the wall.

When Nick turned around to look at her in the quickly fading light, he couldn't help but chortle out a laugh. "You look cute all bundled up like that."

Sara scowled. "I'm still cold."

"And grumpy." Nick quipped as he sat down on the edge of the bed and slid his shoes off.

"Sorry." Sara let out a sigh and looked at Nick as he climbed under the covers next to her. "I just don't like the unexpected."

Nick chuckled. "Well then you made an interesting choice becoming a criminalist." He knew what she meant; she liked being in control and a situation like this was definitely out of her control.

"That's different." She huffed, shifting her weight and pulling the blankets closer to her.

Nick quirked an eyebrow at her. "You still cold?" She'd tried to help him push the Denali out of a ditch before someone had towed them out and she hadn't been wearing gloves.

"Yes." Sara was trying to keep her teeth from chattering.

"Give me your hands." Nick commanded gently.

"Why?" Sara was suspicious. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, she wasn't sure she trusted herself.

Nick didn't try and explain he just took her hands in between his and began to rub them vigorously.

"Mmmn, that feels good." Sara mumbled as her hands started to warm up, her eyelids starting to get heavy as the fatigue took over.

By the time Nick let go of her hands, she was asleep. He let out a soft chuckle and then closed his eyes and let sleep claim him too.

It was quite a few hours later when Sara started to feel a rather uncomfortable sensation and try as she might, she just couldn't stay asleep. As she blinked her eyes open and realized where she was she muttered quietly under her breath. "Damn bladder." With all the care and precision of an Olympic gymnast, she crawled over Nick without waking him up, pulled her shoes on, and slipped outside to find the outhouse the proprietor of the cabins had insisted was just a few steps away. By the time she got back she was freezing again. She kicked her shoes off and with much less grace tried to crawl back over Nick, waking him up in process.

"Sorry." She winced as she slipped and elbowed him in the gut and then landed on top of him.

Even tired, Nick had a sense of humor. "If you wanted to jump me, all you had to do was ask."

"I was just going to the bathroom." Sara was shivering and not just from the cold.

"I didn't realize the cabin had one of those." Nick quipped letting out a yawn as Sara rolled off of him and climbed back under the covers.

"It doesn't, there's an outhouse, and fortunately there was toilet paper." Sara pulled the quilts up almost over her head to try and get warm again.

As she lay there, teeth chattering, Nick let out a chuckle. "Sara, come here."

"I'm right here." She answered through clattering teeth.

"That's not what I meant." He reached over and pulled her against him and began rubbing her back.

"You're warm." Sara wasn't sure this was a good idea.

"You're cold." Nick's tone made it evident that there was a smile on his face.

Sara was enjoying this far too much, but she was cold and she wasn't going to protest, of course, Nick's earlier suggestion that there were other ways they could warm up were coming to mind and without really thinking, she found herself snuggling even closer to him.

Nick let out an amused laugh. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you wanted me, Sidle."

"What if I do?" Sara's tone was smug, but it left enough doubt in Nick's mind that he didn't say anything for a long moment.

Sounding bolder than he felt, Nick decided to call her bluff and rolled her onto her back, looking down at her in the darkness, just barely able to see her face from the soft glow from the embers in the fireplace. "Then I'd say the feeling's mutual."

Sara felt her heart in her throat and she could feel Nick hovering over her, his arm across her waist. When she found her voice, her words surprised her. "Then kiss me you idiot."

Nick wasn't going to question her and he did just that, dipping his head and brushing his lips over hers softly, wondering in the back of his mind if this wasn't just the biggest mistake of his life since he was sure that in the morning she'd kill him.

Sara found herself gripping the front of his shirt and leaning up to capture his lips as he pulled away. "Nick." Her voice was wistful and slightly husky.

Nick dipped his head again and kissed her with a little more gusto this time, savoring the feel of her lips on his and the taste of her mouth as she opened it to him. When he finally pulled away, he whispered in the darkness. "Sara, is this a good idea?" He might have been voicing concern, but the tone in his voice clearly conveyed that he wanted her.

"Yes." Sara began tugging at Nick's shirt underneath the covers and slowly in between passionate kisses and caresses, one by one articles of clothing were lost in the sheets.

Later, as the waves of bliss began to ebb, Nick and Sara lay tangled underneath the mountain of quilts, quite sated and content. Sara snuggled against Nick and then whispered in a soft sleepy voice as she closed her eyes. "That was definitely a much better way to warm up."

_**The End**_


End file.
